Customer Reviews

Odonata

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I will never forget when the Gregorian chants of Arcane Voices came out of my speaker when I played it. The music is very ambient, dark, mysterious and deep with lots of emotion. It's kind of like Delerium or a watered down Enigma but more trippy and electronic.

I often listen to Opaque with the Sanskrit Chants, Ilona with the opera singing, Dreamdance with the beautiful Native American Flutes, Tinuviel, and Etheral with the very sad melody. In fact I love this whole album from start to finish for an hour long journey. Few New Age CDs have the stunning ambient New Age sound. This has got to be one of the best new age albums I have ever listened to. The album cover art with the dragonfly is perfect for the music on this CD.

Every song is like a story being told to me and it brings up images of dark clouds in the west getting darker but with the red sun breaking through hole giving a sign of hope. Few other New Age albums give such fantastic images. This album could go well with the Lord Of The Rings movie.

Opaque is a very ambient song with almost danceable beats, electronic soaring blips and Sanskrit Chants. It starts out as a minor note and then it becomes a major note. Ilone has some whistling in the background at the beginning along with dark ominous sounds. It then becomes another great new age song a lot like Opaque but more electronic. It has some opera vocals. It brings up images of a white glowing fairy in a background of forest on a dark cloudy evening. Enchantment is what the title says, enchanting! It's very Gothic with Middle Eastern chants with some pianos and some flutes. Dreamdancer is a more Native American influenced song. It's not as hounting as Enchantment but nonetheless haunting. Tinuviel is a very sad song with mostly keyboards and flutes. My one complaint about this song is that it's only about three minutes long. Oh Well. It's still great though. Avalon is another ambient song. While it doesn't seem to rank up as well as most of the others on this album it's still a great song. Calantha is a slow paced song with almost what I guess would be Female Gregorian chants. Then electronic blips come in. Odyssey starts off with echoing chimes and then becomes another haunting ambient stormy song with a danceable beat. Fairytale is a very dreamy song with flutes, pianos and some worldly beats. Paean is another dreamy song. This song will have to grow on you but then you'll love it as well. Arcane Voices was what made me love this album immediately upon the first ten seconds of listening. This song could fit well an Enigma record. It's very ominous, Gothic with Gregorian chants and electronic. It also has the shooting star sound effects from the beginning of Sadeness off Enigmas MCMXC album. Fans of Sadeness should listen to this song especially those who were dissapointed by Enigmas post MCMXC material. Ascension is another danceable dreamy song. It's another grower. Etheral made me cry upon first listening. It's very sad yet heppy at the same time with like the closing song to a fantasy movie. In fact this song could have made a perfect closing song to the Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of the Rings movie because it brings up images of the dark clouds in the distance at the end of the movie. It's even better than May It Be by Enya and that was one of the best songs she had done in a long time. Lhasa is a slow paced song with medievel marching beats. It brings this epic journey to a close with mostly chimes ringing with strange sound effects.

I literrally Embraced this album the first 3 seconds of listening. This has got to be the best New Age album I have heard in years. It may rival Freuds Time Passengers for the best New Age album of all time in my opinion.

It would be cool idea if Enya could some day experiment with some Gregorian Chants on some future material. It would be a fresh new sound for her. But let's enjoy what this Norwegian musical genius has brought is. I hope we don't have to wait too long for a follow up to this fantasic album. This album is already a New Age classic. I will enjoy it till the end of time.

I recently stumbled upon this album in the used cd bins. I was quite surprised to find a copy of "Odonata" in the used bins. Along with Clan of Xymox and "State of Grace", I quickly snapped up this album. Being a big fan of Enigma and Delerium, I was very curious to hear this album. I automatically fell in love with the music the moment I heard the haunting, ethereal sounds of "Opaque". I adored the lush sounds of the pan flutes on that particular song. The sanskrit chants on that song was more subtle and not nearly as obvious than what you might hear on an Enigma cd. The mellow electronic beats was a nice addition to the song and they added depth to the song. The female vocals on "Ilona" were breathtaking. Whoever contributed her voals to that song reminded me a lot like Loreena McKennitt and Enya. "Ilona" is one of my most personal favorite songs on the entire cd. "Odonata" has such a dreamlike quality in its music. Both the vocals and instruments don't overwhelm each other and bombard the listener. "Enchantment" definitely reminds me of something Delerium had done in the days when they were on Hypnotic/Cleopatra Records. The hypnotic synthesizers had that same quality that I have heard on "Spheres" and "Spheres II". "Odonata" is a stunning album. I absolutely love it. I could not find a single track on the album that I didn't like.

It must be said at the outset, that I rarely contribute reviews, but when an exceptional cd like this comes along, I feel compelled to offer my thoughts, for whatever they are worth. Having said that, let me also say that I have at least 200 New Age/World Music cds in my cd library and this is in the top ten at the moment.

I find this cd unique-sounding on some tracks, but other tracks share musical tastes with other artists. The editor compared this to artists such as Tangerine Dream and Deep Forest. Tracks 1 (Opaque) and 4 (Dreamdance) mix these 2 sounds together and it is surprisingly stunning. Another artist that achieves this same sound is Waterbone (the album is "Tibet") and if you like what you hear on these tracks, you will love Waterbone.

Track 11 (Arcane Voices) will no doubt remind many listeners of Enigma or Delerium.

An artist's sound that is also featured on this cd is Davol, one of my favorite keyboardists. Tracks 7 (Calantha), 9 (Fairyland), 12 (Ascension), and 14 (Lhasa) all mimic his melodic and ethereal music.

My favorite "mellow" track is 13 (Ethereal). It is hauntingly beautiful and cannot be compared to any other artist that I know of.

If I had to choose 5 favorites they would be 1 (Opaque), 3 (Enchantment), 4 (Dreamdance), 8 (Odyssey), and, of course, 13 (Ethereal). But there is really not a weak track on the cd, though I sometimes skip 5 (Tinuviel) and 6 (Avalon) for they do not measure up to the others (in my humble opinion).

I do so hope that Amethystium will not wait too long in putting out another album. All of the reviewers are unanimous in their praise of this excellent cd and would no doubt beat a path down to their nearest music store in the event of a new release.

I had never even heard of Amethystium before *Odonata* was featured on musical starstreams.com. I also sampled some tracks on mp3.com and decided to buy the CD. The music defies categorization, and in fact you may have a hard time finding this album in most stores (try Borders or B & N). But once you find it, buy it! The sounds are a pleasing mixture of downtempo ambient, trance groove and electronica, with Gregorian chants thrown in for good measure. The duo who is Amethystium weaves textures of organic electronica, creating aural landscapes of beauty and mystery. Perfect music for late candelit evenings, dreary rainy afternoons or long car drives. Every listen is a new experience! Try it and discover where the music takes you.

This CD is absolutely engaging and subtle! I bought it after listening to samples of it at [local store] at the end of last year, and it has not left my CD player since. Every track on this CD offers something fresh and exciting! I've read all the reviews comparing it to Enigma, etc, but I don't think that Amethystium can be compared to them at all. This CD has carved a niche of it's own - trancy, spacing, and highly imaginative! If you know the mythology and stories behind the titles (he named his pieces after fairies, elves, goddesses...) then the CD totally clicks. The pieces sound like they come from another time, another place...as someone said earlier, this could be a soundtrack for the Lord of the Rings film.

For people who analyze music (like me), this CD offers up something new everytime you listen to it. Listen to Calantha for a great example of all the different layers that Ramjford uses!

Truly a great CD for a journey away from everything and into another world. But beware! Listening to this CD could greatly impair your ability to listen to other New Age/Mood CDs!...

I first discovered Amethystium on MP3.com, and after listening to only two or three sample songs, I knew I had to have this CD. The music is endlessly soothing with an ethereal sound that both relaxes you and captivates your attention. You can listen to it over & over and it will still amaze you. My favorite selection is "Enchantment," but picking a favorite song is difficult with this album, as they all flow so well that you won't dare skip ahead. I put this album at the same level as many popular artists like Robert Miles (Dreamland, 23AM), Yanni, & David Arkenstone, among others, though I haven't found anything quite like the style of this album. I give it five stars for an excellent album.

I have 3 albums by Amethystium. They are all great. I classify them as instrumemtal New Age albums. The music is very relaxing, and is great to have on in the background when you're reading, writing, or doing something else where vocal music would be too disruptive. While there is some singing going on, it isn't in a language that I recognize, and the voice generally comes across just as another instrument, rather than a means of communication.

The music here is much more melodic, more like traditional music in its structure, than you would find in an "ambient" album. But it is also very smooth, flowing, with a rich texture with several instruments working together to create beautiful, soothing harmonies.

I accidentally stumbled upon Amethystium, and quickly snapped-up both Odonata and the Autumn Interlude EP. This music is hauntingly beautiful and never fails to transform my day....especially if I have been under alot of stress! My favorite track changes on a daily basis, but stand-outs that I never seem to tire of are: Opaque, Dreamdance and Calantha.

If you are a Mythos fan or enjoy Delerium, Vangelis or Phobos, you will get high while listening to this special music which will carry you away to magical place. I'm anxiously awaiting Amethystium's next CD!!

It was 2 months when I accidently found Amethystium on the internet. The first track that I downloaded was DreamDance and I fell in love with it immediately. The composer has a great taste and plenty of talent. I feel that given time, this project will improve even more by the time the second or third album is released. I highly recommend this album to any person who likes Enigma, Dead Can Dance or Era.
At the price its availabe, it should be one of the best bargain you make in a long time.

I first found Amethystium on MP3.com purely by accident. I fell in love immediately. I downloaded all there was to download.

I always swore that if they ever came out with an official album, I would buy it even though I already had the music. And I did.

Keep up the good work guys and keep em coming.